Map: Senate Democrats Nuke the Filibuster

The Senate vote on blowing up the filibuster, mapped.

After years of threats, Majority Leader Harry Reid finally took the “nuclear option” today and heavily limited the power of filibustering. Senators will no longer be able to filibuster votes to approve executive branch nominees and judicial nominees for lower courts, which means the president’s nominees will henceforward require only 51 votes instead of the 60 required to defeat a filibuster. Senators will still be able to filibuster Supreme Court nominations.

The rule change will prevent the minority from stifling executive functions by withholding nominee approvals, but it could also affect the ideological makeup of the executive and judicial branches. The map above shows how senators from each state voted on the issue.